Tiger-Lily
by Kirishtu
Summary: While going about her day in Goldshire, Keirri becomes involved with a young pandaren monk. While traveling together, the two learn that courage is sometimes the answer to conquering fear. A request for Windrunner Productions.


"Hey! You!"

She kept on walking, just two steps. Then a massive hand fell on her shoulder and spun her about. Keirri stared up at the angry, tentactled face of a draenei shaman - and smiled.

"Yes?" she asked sweetly.

"My coins. You took them. Five them back."

Keirri spread her hands, partly to show she had no coins, and partly to distract the shaman so she could place her hands on the hilts of her swords without seeming like a threat. Of course, she doubted the shaman thought of her as a threat. Goldshire was famous - or infamous - for having threats sit on the inn's roof and taunt Alliance into thinking open combat was a good idea. And any Alliance who took a Horde up on that offer usually didn't come back in one piece. Besides that, Keirri herself didn't seem like that much of a threat. Being a night elf, she had the tall, lithe frame her race was notorious for, and she wore her profession - rogue - like a second skin. She excelled in combat and had a reputation that preceded her. So most in Goldshire knew to avoid the light purple-skinned, turquoise haired night elf who strode around proudly in the while Ghostwalker armor.

Normally, she kept to herself, but this shaman had looked too new to Goldshire, and she couldn't resist.

His hand locked tight around her shoulder. "Give me back my money."

"I don't have your money, sugar." Keirri replied. "Now you'd best let go before you lose that hand."

He withdrew his hand - then struck with the metal claws on his other hand.

Keirri leaped back, and her swords, twins of each other, were in her hands before the shaman blinked.

Kerri laughed. "Big mistake."

There was a reason rogues were hated and feared in combat. First was their ability to vanish. Second was their ability to stun-lock their victim and go to town on them before their prey even recovered. So, the shaman didn't even have a chance. She left him alive, because she had to, and because he would serve as a warning. Kerri's sheathed her weapons, dusted off her armor, then walked away whistling. Most people got out of her way quickly, but a young pandaren just gaped at her for a moment. Keirri slashed a smirk at the pandaren - not that it could be seen because of the white mask she wore - and daintily settled herself on the sign post that told travelers which road led to Stormwind and which road led to Northshire. She eyed the crowd, but didn't see the young pandaren - _Probably fresh off the turtle,_ Keirri thought to herself - and was just as well because -

"Hello?"

Keirri's shoulders twitched. She looked down at the young pandaren and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Hello." she said, warily.

The pandaren girl beamed at her. She was of average height for pandaren, clearly a mistweaver monk. She wore all black, and had a streak of green in her hair. She had reddish fur, a raccoon-like tail, and at her paws yawned a quilen puppy. Those blue eyes sparkled with an innocence most Azerothians lost within the first six seconds of knowing what their world was like, which told Keirri the girl was either willfully blind, or an idiot.

"Have you been here long?" asked the pandaren.

Keirri smiled. Definitely an idiot. "All my life."

"I came here to explore. I grew up on the back of the great turtle, Shen-zin Su, and have never been so far from home before. I saw the Horde - they're quite violent, aren't they? - but I came here to Stormwind. I don't want to choose a faction, but the Alliance seems quite friendly."

Keirri nodded as the words gushed out of the girl. Then a sparkle caught the rogue's eye, and her thief's instincts came roaring to the forefront of her mind. Her eyes focused on the pandaren girl's pack which hung open just a bit. A hoard of gems were inside, and Keirri's fingers itched. Pandaren garnets, vermilion onyxes, wild jades - they were all there, calling to her with their sweet little voices.

"So," said the pandaren girl, "I was hoping that maybe you'd explore this wonderful world with me. Everyone says you know everything there is, and I saw you fight. You were amazing!"

Kerri slipped off the post and landed lightly on the ground. She flung an arm around the pandaren while her other hand gently stole into the girl's pack and wrapped around a gem or three. "Sweetheart, you're a good kid. I can see that. But I'm a little busy. Too busy to take you exploring. You should find a Loremaster for that. They know everything."

Those black-clothed shoulders slumped. "Oh."

So much disappointment in one little word.

Keirri released the pandaren and smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

The rogue took a few steps - only a few! - and the long, sad sigh followed her, so she paused. Then-

"It'll be okay, Entei," the pandaren was saying. "We'll find someone to show us Azeroth. We'll explore every corner, every place on each continent! We'll climb mountains, fly over seas! We'll see the secrets of the world with our own eyes." A pause. "Some day."

_By Elune._ Keirri closed her eyes. She let out a sigh of her own. She turned around and stopped cold. The pandaren girl's blue eyes were watery, as if she couldn't believe her own words. Her voice had been full of fire and passion until the last. Keirri's heart ached. She didn't know why. It wasn't like she really _cared_ but...

"Oh, hell." Keirri set her hands on her hips. "Hey, you, pandaren monk girl."

The girl looked up sharply and looked at Keirri. The night elf beckoned her over. A smile bloomed on the girl's face as she trotted over. Looking around, Keirri pulled the girl out of sight and offered her back the gems she'd taken. "Here. And fine. I'll take you exploring, just don't... don't cry."

The pandaren girl looked at the gems, then Keirri, and then at the gems. She gently took them, smiling the whole while. She slipped them back into her bag and said nothing more after, "My name is Yuffie. It's nice to meet you, Keirri."

Keirri suppressed a groan, then gestured to Yuffie, and together they headed back to Stormwind. The rogue couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, she had been tricked somehow. 

Keirri took a deep breath of ashen air. They had been in Hyjal for almost a week now, and had explored almost every inch of the land scoured by fire and Ragnaros' minions, and the Twilight Cult. Yuffie was a bundle of questions. Everywhere they went, everything they saw, there was always a 'why' or a 'who' or 'how'. It was kind of cute. They were heading back to the inn hidden in the boughs of Nordrassil after exploring the more dangerous places. Their supplies were low, and Keirri didn't fancy another night camped out in ash under the cloudy sky. It didn't feel right.

And then they came upon the ruins of a night elf settlement, and Keirri's heart tightened. She knew this place, recognized this place, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Then a black-clad shoulder brushed her, and Keirri swallowed the sadness.

"This is terrible," said Yuffie. "Did the Cataclysm do this?"

"No," Keirri replied softly. "This was the work of demons."

"Demons?"

Swallowing hard, Keirri hesitantly began to tell Yuffie the story of the War of the Ancients, how the night elves and their allies had made a final stand at Mount Hyjal against Queen Azshara's, rather, Sargeras', demon army. She told of a surprise attack on this now nameless ruin, how demons had managed to sneak around the defenders and had destroyed the village and the people living, hiding, _surviving_ here. "The demons were defeated, eventually, but the damage had been done."

Yuffie eyed the rogue carefully. "You were here."

"Yes."

Those pretty blue eyes went wide, then softened with understanding. A paw curled around Keirri's hand and held tight. Keirri closed her eyes and smiled.

The tranquil moment didn't last.

Keirri felt it in the way the wind suddenly shifted and the earth vibrated beneath her. The night elf opened her eyes, and in a motion as natural and easy as breathing, Keirri shoved Yuffie back hard enough the pandaren stumbled and fell, and her swords were in her hands, crossing behind her back. The resounding clang made her shoulders ache, but the move saved her life.

The orc warrior leaped back as if surprised she was able to block him. Sparing the barest glances to Yuffie, Keirri fell into stance. She couldn't use vanish; if she did, the orc would go straight for Yuffie. Edging closer to the pandaren, Keirri made sure she hadn't been hurt in the fall, then said, "Get up. I need you to keep heals rolling on me if he decides to press the attack."

Yuffie's eyes were wide. Her entire body was shaking. It was like she didn't see or hear Keirri, like the night elf had ceased to exist.

The orc bellowed a challenge and came at Keirri, his ax swinging for a lateral cut that would cleave her in two. Keirri jumped out of the way, slamming down a smoke bomb and tumbling to the ground in a roll to avoid being sliced. She caught the orc on the back of his calf, but didn't do much more than alert him that she was behind him. He stabbed downward with the haft of the ax, missing her face by inches. She scrambled backwards, deflecting his blade as it came screaming in at her waist. Keirri launched an offensive attack of her own, her blades glinting in the faint light as she tried to find a weakness in the orc's plate armor. Not that she was having much luck; the orc looked to be in full arena gear. He must've been passing through when she spotted them, and decided to make a surprise attack.

Keirri ground her teeth and danced backwards, trying to lead him away from Yuffie. When he realized what she was trying to do, the orc leered a bloody grin at her, and turned around. He stalked toward the paralyzed monk, who watched him coming with tear bright, crystal blue eyes.

Cursing, Keirri drew upon what little orcish she knew - a by-product of her own travels - and yelled, "Your father is a human!"

The orc stopped dead in his tracks. Pivoted on one foot. Stared at her. Then, wordlessly, he charged. 

Fear.

It was a cold, and thing, one of the sha the Emperor Shaohao had purged from himself to save Pandaria. Now it gripped Yuffie in paralyzing choke-hold, even as she watched Keirri take on a massive orc that looked like he could crush the rogue with his bare hands. She was holding her own, barely, just enough to keep the orc focused on her rather than Yuffie. Tears stung Yuffie's eyes. _Keirri's so brave. And I... and I..._

Then the orc turned toward her and Yuffie let out a terrified squeal. Or she thought she did. Her lungs seemed to be as paralyzed as the rest of her. The warrior took a step toward her - _Why won't won't you move?!_ - and then a feminine voice snapped out, something in a language Yuffie didn't understand. The orc did, though. He stopped. Paused. He turned, slowly, to face Keirri who was dusty, dirty, beautiful. Yuffie stared as Keirri held her ground against the orc's sudden charge, her twin swords at the ready.

It was as if time slowed then. Yuffie watched as Keirri dodged the ax the orc swung and managed to cut the monster across his face. The scent of blood and the sharp pain seemed to only enrage him further, and his strikes become harder, faster. It was all Keirri could do to hold him off, but even she couldn't hold out forever under the onslaught. Yuffie _knew_ that but still...

Still she remained frozen.

And then Keirri's legs buckled. The night elf collapsed to her knees, struggling to deflect blows designed to take off a limb or her head. She managed to break free of the onslaught, roll out of the way, but she never got back to her feet. The orc caught her mid-roll with a vicious kick to her stomach, sending Keirri flying up into the air. The orc caught her on her way down with a nasty punch to her ribcage, and the likelihood of leather stopping plate-backed fury was nil. Keirri hit the ground, gasping for air. Her arm was wrapped around her chest, and blood splattered the ground with each breath she exhaled. Her turquoise hair was matted to her skin, almost purple in places because of the blood smeared on the blue strands. The orc laughed, deep and harsh, and raised his ax.

Yuffie felt a new kind of fear rush through her in that moment. It wasn't the kind of fear that paralyzed her, that made her blood run as cold as ice. It wasn't the kind of fear that made her cry and want to cover her ears and pretend she was still on the Wandering Isle, the great turtle Shen-zin Su. No, this fear was something entirely different. While her heart pounded, it wasn't out of terror for herself but terror at losing Keirri. This fear ran hot, melting the ice in her blood and making her feel hot and feverish. Without consciously realizing she'd made the decision to stand, Yuffie found herself on her feet. Then on trembling paws, she took a step forward. Then another. And another until she was all but sprinting toward the orc.

"No!"

The word was out of her mouth, a thunderclap of noise. The orc hesitated in his strike, but it was enough. Despite being a mistweaver, Yuffie had undergone all of the training a brewmaster or windwalker monk would complete before focusing solely on their chosen school. So, the pandaren had in her arsenal the same basic martial arts that any pandaren had - and she had more weapons than just the black sword in her hand. The orc's surprise was her advantage. As Yuffie's sword came whistling in at his waist, he stepped away to avoid the blow.

He stepped away, and Yuffie spun, her tail whipping into his face. The heel of her foot hit his solar plexus, driving him back even more. She ducked under his retaliatory ax swing, then rammed her fits into his hip, and then stomped on the inside of his knee. As he doubled over, Yuffie swung her sword and caught him on the chin with the side of her blade, forcing his head to snap backwards. He stumbled, and she hit him with a flying crane kick, sending him tumbling backwards. The last she saw of him was his arms flailing as he went over the side of a hill, or a cliff, and she thought she heard a _thump_ a moment later. It didn't matter.

Yuffie turned to who did. "Keirri!"

Keirri lay on her side, half curled in a fetal position. Her eyes were half open, and a soft expression was on the visible part of her face. Her mask was stained red. "You... you did it, tiger-lily."

"Don't talk!" Yuffie was on her knees beside Keirri in an instant. She gently placed her paws on Keirri's chest and sent healing chi into the night elf's body. Keirri's breath hitched and her eyes closed tight, but as bone and muscle healed, the rogue began to breathe easier. "Don't... don't move." Yuffie whispered.

Keirri laughed quietly. "I think I'm okay now."

As if to punctuate her sentence, the night elf pushed herself up. Yuffie threw her arms around Keirri and held tight. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I just left you all by yourself!"

"It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay. You came when it counted."

Sniffling, Yuffie pulled back and Keirri wiped away her tears. The pandaren tried to smile. "I was so scared."

"Fear's healthy in small doses. Keeps us alive, but you can't let it rule you."

"But... I'm not as courageous as you."

"Courageous? Me? For what, going up against a fully plate-armored orc? I was terrified! But, love, courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the conquest of it."

Understanding filled Yuffie's eyes, and the pandaren helped Keirri to her feet. "I won't freeze again," Yuffie said.

Keirri smiled. "I know you won't."

They left the area quickly then, heading toward one of the most secluded places in Hyjal, high up in the branches of Nordrassil. There, Keirri found a small bowl-shape in one of the massive branches, wide enough for two. As Yuffie prepared the evening meal, Keirri laid out their blankets for a nest. Once they ate, they settled back on their blankets with their backpacks for pillows, and looked up at the crystal clear sky, watching the thousands upon thousands of stars.

Keirri talked of Elune, the goddess the night elves worshipped, and she talked about the history of Nordrassil, and why the tree meant so much. Yuffie listened quietly, then shifted and placed her paw gently over Keirri's mouth to quiet her. Then the pandaren kissed her.

Keirri's body tingled at the kiss, and her eyes closed briefly. She lifted her hands, and ran her fingers through Yuffie's fur before gripping her hair and pulling her in for a deeper kiss. When they parted, they were both panting. Then Keirri gave a smile that usually meant mischief, and pushed Yuffie onto her back. The night elf insinuated herself between Yuffie's legs and pressed close, her hands roaming up under Yuffie's black top.

"What-?" Yuffie started.

"Shh."

Yuffie gasped as Keirri's fingers brushed over her breasts, tweaking at her nipples and making them rise into nubs under her fur. Her lower body tingled and she tried to squirm, but Keirri had her effectively pinned that way. So Yuffie used what was available to her - her own hands - to fight back, so to speak. Her deft paws quickly made short work of Keirri's white leather armor, leaving the rogue bare from the waist up. Then she wrapped her paws around Keirri's breasts and listened to the night elf's breath hitch at the touch.

_Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the conquest of it._

Those words rang in Yuffie's mind, and she became a little bolder. She squeezed those soft, fleshy mounds to try and see how many sounds Keirri would make with each squeeze. Yuffie even imitated her night elf, squeezing and tweaking Keirri's dusky nipples until they were hard little nubs. The only time she was interrupted was when Keirri pulled off her black top, and then hooked her fingers in the hem of Yuffie's pants and pulled. Off came those black pants - and her panties - leaving the pandaren fully explosed to Keirri and the stars. A kiss silenced the protest, and Keirri drew back again. This time, she attended her own remaining garments, leaving her lower half just as naked as Yuffie's.

Yuffie stared, then swallowed.

Keirri laughed softly, then knelt back down between Yuffie's legs and pressed her hips to the pandaren's, letting the girl feel their mutual heat. "It's okay," whispered Keirri.

"I trust you," whispered Yuffie.

Keirri smiled and kissed Yuffie again, and braced herself with her left hand. Her right drifted from Yuffie's neck to the cleft between her breasts, then down her stomach and further down until she could feel the heat of Yuffie's body against her fingertips. And then she gently ran her fingers over the girl's wet labia, earning a sharp gasp that was quickly silenced by a kiss. Yuffie gripped the blankets beneath her and then arched with a wordless cry as Keirri's first two fingers slipped past her soaked lips and pressed deep inside her.

Keirri moved her fingers gently at first, letting Yuffie get used to their feel and movement. Then she added another and another until she was thrusting half her hand into her pandaren. Yuffie gripped the blankets and cried out as loudly as she dared, feeling pleasure build inside her until she was sure she was going to burst. Keirri kept on with the movement, kept thrusting her hand and curling her fingers, touching the pandaren's velvet insides and stroking just that right spot that made Yuffie arch and gasp and writhe and become even wetter.

Just when Yuffie was about to come, Keirri stopped. She pulled her fingers from Yuffie, but before the girl could protest, she found herself on her side with Keirri facing her. Yuffie realized what her night elf's intentions were, and followed Keirri almost exactly motion for motion. Her paws stroked Keirri's wetness, her fingers carefully delving inside that velveteen darkness even as Keirri was doing the same to her. Their bodies moved closer to each other, fingers drove deeper. Breaths became sharper and the sounds of pleasure couldn't quite be muffled enough.

And then Yuffie's breath hitched. The pleasure was just too much; she couldn't hold it back anymore even if she tried. Her moan heralded her release, and the sound was echoed by Keirri. Though she tried to follow Keirri's lead, Yuffie just couldn't make her paw move harder to match Keirri's rhythm. Not that it mattered anyway, for Keirri's breath hitched too and then-

-stars exploded behind Yuffie's eyes as she came, her body clamping tight around Keirri's fingers which were buried deep inside her. Yuffie felt Keirri come too, and after a few moments of riding those waves of pleasure, the sounds of their panting became the loudest sounds they could hear in the night.

When they could move again, Keirri cleaned them up and they dressed in their underclothes, wrapping blankets around them as the night-cool air chased away the heat of pleasure. Yuffie cuddled close to Keirri and tucked her head against the night elf's chest to listen to the slowing beat of her heart.

"Where to tomorrow?" Yuffie asked in a quiet whisper.

Keirri was silent for a moment. Then she said, "Why don't I take you to the Twilight Highlands?"

"Is it scary?"

"Very much so."

Yuffie giggled. "Okay. Tomorrow."

"Yup. Tomorrow."


End file.
